Co-founder of Xbox isn’t sure if VR will succeed

Ed Fries, co-founder of the Xbox and former vice president of game publishing, took to Yabbly for an AMA session. Among the various topics on which he elucidated — such as how he regrets releasing the original Xbox with its infamous enormous gamepad — he spoke about virtual reality, spurred on by Facebook’s recent Oculus Rift acquisition. He noted that, perhaps surprisingly, he is skeptical of the current VR trend, and isn’t sure whether or not it will succeed.

Fries isn’t just some crazy guy whose opinions should be brushed under the rug of internet AMA sessions, but played an important role in acquiring developers that were vital to the Xbox’s success — such as Bungie and Rare — in a market already dominated by Sony and Nintendo. Among interesting tidbits divulged in the AMA, like how Bill Gates completely understood Microsoft’s games division whether or not it seemed like he did to the public, the most topical portion of the question-and-answer session focused on the current state of virtual reality.

Fans of the Oculus Rift might be unhappy to know that Fries likened the current virtual reality trend to 3D televisions. Even though he routinely hears about cool stuff, he said, the spectacular failure of the 3D TV market makes him skeptical of the way the broad consumer market will receive VR headsets. He does, however, imply that the headsets might succeed on the gaming market — which, admittedly, is where the scene is mainly focused at this time.

Throughout the rest of the AMA, Fries candidly answers subjects about the inner workings of Microsoft’s games division, how he feels about the PS4 and Xbox One not having an amazing library yet, and about how he finds it exciting that small teams can make video games again, even in the age of big-budget triple-A titles. If you’re interested in the games industry, the AMA is certainly worth a read.